Coming Back Home
by horsemadhorsegal
Summary: Amy returns from college to resume a her new life, she is a qualified vet and owns Heartland now.  Canon as far as I could make it before her college days but I have changed some things during the seven years.  Will be changed to an M later :
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Ok, so I'm reposting each of the chapters. They're slightly adjusted and edited. The story is going to stay 'T-rated' now, but I may choose to write up the missing moments and post them as a separate 'M-rated' story. It should be about 14 chapters by the time it's finished; I'm going to finish off these few weeks where Amy and Ty are a bit of a mess and then go into a series of one-shots for the second half. Sorry for all the delay and so on, I honestly have been manically busy, but thank you for all those who have stuck it out Reviews really appreciated.**

* * *

''We'll keep in touch though. We can compare notes! It'll be just like old times,'' Amy laughed. All of her stuff was packed in her truck; text books, notes, clothes and happy memories. She hugged Daisy, her best friend from college.

''Of course we will,'' Daisy replied, ''I can't wait - the next step. Working!'' They laughed together. Amy brushed her light brown hair out of her face.

''You'll have to come to Heartland sometime,'' Amy said to the brunette.

''You bet! I wana see this place you are so obsessed with,'' she grinned back, ''See you soon.''

Amy got in the truck and turned the ignition key. ''See you.''

As she drove off the campus she looked through her mirror at the place she had spent the last 7 years. Despite feeling homesick for the first little bit she had loved every minute of it. The challenge of her course, the social life she had, the friends she had made, Chestnut Hill, the list went on. She was a fully qualified vet now; free to lead her life, not studying. Working at Heartland and being with her family. Despite previously being unsure as to whether this was the right thing for her, she was convinced now that it was. She felt, although she would never have believed it before, more confident treating horses than she ever had. Her instincts were almost always right and she now had the ability and knowledge of backing this up with a proper diagnosis. It made her warm inside to think that now she could finally concentrate on Heartland full time.

Once again Amy found herself thinking how much Heartland had changed since she left for her pre-vet programme nearly seven years ago. Lou and Scott had the beautiful Holly - she was seven now, horse mad thankfully and unbelievably adorable; Amy had a feeling that the novelty of her niece being so cute wouldn't last long, she was sure that she would begin to drive her mad soon.

Ty and Joni were still at Heartland although Joni was now engaged to a young teacher from Amy's old high school. He had moved down a few years back and the two had met one night and clicked instantly. Amy had only met him a few times but he seemed like a great guy. Ty was still single after breaking up with Heather not long after Amy had first met her. Amy knew he had had a few flings but apparently nothing serious.

Tears pricked in her eyes as she thought of the other changes that had happened at Heartland. Sundance had gone, Spindle had been sold and worst of all Nancy and Grandpa had passed on. It had happened about three years ago. She had found it so hard at the time, now she couldn't believe how long ago it had happened. She just couldn't believe that Grandpa had gone. It would be so strange being at home with nobody there. Although she had lived alone most of the time while she had been away she had never really been at Heartland on her own. Sure she'd been back for holidays but it wasn't the same.

Just after that had happened, Heartland had gone through some tough financial times so the decision had been made to sell Spindle. He was going brilliantly, competing on the 'A' circuit. Amy was stoked, although she hadn't had a lot to do with his breaking and schooling - that had all been down to Ty and Joni. Sundance had gotten a bad bout of colic well before that and twisted his gut. There had been no chance of saving him.

It had been tough being away during the bad times at Heartland but that was in the past now and Amy knew that, although she carried a part of each of them with her at all times in her heart, she had to get on with life and make the best of what she had.

* * *

She finally pulled up Heartland's long sweeping drive and a warm feeling spread through her. Finally she was home. She brought the truck to a stop and jumped out, taking a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of hay, straw and horse. Although she had worked a lot with the horses on campus, it didn't smell quite the same as at home. She pulled a few suitcases out of the truck and lugged them up to the house. It was seven o'clock in the evening. She suspected that everyone had gone home; there was no sign of anyone. She had to admit that she was a little surprised and disappointed - she had expected someone to be here.

She pulled out her keys and unlocked the front door, lugged her bags in and dumped them in the kitchen. The light snapped on.

Holly threw her arms around her.

''Auntie Amy!'' she squealed. Amy took in the scene around her. The kitchen was filled with people who she loved. Lou, Scott, Matt, Soraya, Ty, Joni, Tim, Helena and Lily.

''Welcome home!'' Lou shouted, running over to hug her sister. Amy grinned and hugged her sister before picking up Holly.

''You've grown young lady,'' she smiled at the young girl.

''I know, I've got a new pony now,'' she said excitedly, bouncing up and down in Amy's arms.

''Is that so?'' Amy asked, ''I can't wait to meet her.''

''We can go now!'' the little girl nearly shouted.

''Hang on a minute,'' Lou grabbed Holly from Amy laughing, ''She's only just got here. Let her speak to everyone and relax. There'll be time tomorrow.''

Ty came over and hugged her, ''It's good to have you back Amy.''

Lou had cooked up a storm, a beautiful chicken casserole with cheesecake for desert. After cooking for herself or getting takeaways at VirginiaTech it was nice to have proper home cooked food. Her cooking had improved though - at least she could cook more than pasta now!

''So, how does it feel?'' Scott asked a little later, once they had finally finished the huge meal, ''being a fully qualified vet, I mean.''

''Umm, great I think. I mean I've only just graduated and I have loads more still to learn, practically anyway. I don't think that my books will be leaving the truck for a while anyway - just in case,'' she smiled. Scott nodded in agreement.

''So you're still ok to do a bit of extra work for me on occasion?'' Scott asked.

''Of course, the more experience the better, right?'' Amy's stomach twisted in nervousness, she felt worried about stuffing things up; she didn't want her being new to the job to be an excuse. Scott owned the vet surgery now - he had bought it when the old owner had retired and Amy didn't want to ruin the reputation that the business still had.

''What do you mean?'' Ty asked, sounding restrained.

''I'm just going to do a bit of extra work for Scott so that I don't forget everything that I've learnt. It won't be much but it's a bit more experience,'' Amy replied, confused about Ty's reaction.

''That's a great idea Amy,'' Joni cut in.

''I think it's fantastic,'' Tim smiled at her.

''Well, she'll be a big help to me too,'' said Scott confidently. Lou touched him on the arm, smiling, and stood up.

''I know that this Amy's big homecoming but Scott and I have a bit of news to tell you. We wanted to say when everyone was here,'' Amy watched as her blue eyes met Scott's and he gave a slight nod of encouragement.

''We are going to have another baby!'' Lou blurted out, unable to contain herself, ''I'm about 4 months gone.''

Amy jumped up and hugged her sister.

''Congratulations! I can't believe it.''

Everyone else hugged Lou and offered their congratulations.

''I would have told you all sooner had I known - it was a bit of a shock to be honest,'' Lou explained, ''We only found out last week.''

Amy glanced at her father, tears shone in his eyes; he looked so happy. It was a long time since she had seen him, Helena and Lily. They had moved back from Australia now and lived just the other side of town running the same business as before only on a much smaller scale. Amy loved the thought that all her family were so close now and it would be so much easier to keep in contact and visit each other.

Amongst all the chaos, Amy noticed the back door open and Ty slid quietly away. She excused herself for a moment whilst everyone cooed around Lou and followed him.

''Are you just going to take off and not even say goodbye?'' she asked playfully.

''Sorry,'' he said, looking at the floor, ''I'm just really tired.''

''Are you ok? You seem kinda... I dunno but you don't seem like you,'' she pushed gently.

''I'm fine, like I said, just really tired,'' he replied, still avoiding her eyes.

''Ok, I'll see you in the morning then.''

''See you Amy,'' and with that he turned and walked off into the darkness, leaving Amy confused and worried; this wasn't the Ty she knew. Briefly she panicked - maybe there was something going on with his family or something else, but she brushed the thoughts aside, he probably is just really tired, she thought to herself as she walked back towards the farm house.

As she reached the back door, Helena and Tim walked out.

''We're going to head off now I think - Lily is really tired. We'll see you soon and have a proper catch up then, ok?'' Tim said, giving her a hug. Amy hugged him back.

''Ok. I'll see soon,'' she replied, hugging Helena and Lily too.

It wasn't long before everyone left, making their excuses and heading off. Amy found herself left alone in the farmhouse. She wondered around the rooms, checking that everything had been left as before. It had and she entered her mother's room and sat on the chair. A puff of dust surrounded her - like all the rooms, it had been a while since the place had been cleaned. But her mother's room was exactly how she had left it that night. That fateful night. Amy choked on her tears, not wanting to cry but suddenly feeling so alone, so very alone.

* * *

Amy awoke to light streaming into her bedroom. She blinked, trying to wake up and shake the sleepiness from her head. Parts of her dream came back to her. She had been standing in the kitchen in a pair of old jeans and sweater. Then she had been on the Clairdale ridge road in the middle of a storm. Her mom was riding Pegasus, but Amy couldn't catch up with her. No matter how fast she ran her mom just sped Pegasus up and galloped away, laughing.

Amy shook her head, trying to erase the dream from her mind. She swung her legs out of bed and checked the clock.

''Crap,'' she cursed. It was nine o'clock. She had forgotten to set her alarm, not used to the early mornings. She pulled an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt on, pounded down the stairs and reached the back door just as Joni and Ty walked in.

''I see you felt too above mucking out this morning,'' Joni grinned cheekily at her.

''I'm sorry, completely forgot to set the old alarm,'' Amy felt a blush creep up her neck; she really hadn't meant to do that; her aim had been to be out on the yard before they arrived.

Joni shook her head, ''Nice excuse, you just think you're too good for us now.''

Amy rolled her eyes, ''How did you guess? Do you want something to eat? I don't know what's in the cupboards but I'm sure Lou has kept them well stocked.''

She opened a cupboard to see a tin of muffins.

''These will do. Muffin?'' she asked, shoving one in her mouth. Shoving the coffee percolator on, Amy pulled three mugs from another cupboard and looked at Ty and Joni.

''So what's the plan then?'' she asked, expectantly.

''Whatever really. Depends on what you have planned for the day,'' Ty responded, an edge creeping into his voice.

''Well actually I haven't got anything planned - just catch up with everything that's going on here,'' Amy said, she had been looking forward to meeting all the new arrivals since she had last been here, six months previously. However, she was confused by Ty's behaviour; it was almost as if he was annoyed with her. What for she had no idea.

She poured the three coffees out and handed them around.

''Mmmm, good coffee Amy. Just what the doctor ordered.'' Amy smiled and stamped her feet into her trainers and opened the back door.

''When does Lou usually arrive?'' she asked.

''About half ten - she likes to get Holly off to school first,'' Joni replied.

''Cool. So how about the grand tour?''

''I'm going to make a start but Joni knows what's going on so I'll leave her to it,'' and with that Ty headed to the tack room. Amy watched him go; hurt that he didn't want to show her around.

''Come on then,'' Joni smiled, ''We'll start with the front stables.''

''Our numbers are down at the moment as you know Amy,'' Lou said, ''What I really want to do is to get them back up to full. Joni and Ty have done a fab job but we do need the money, I'm afraid. The loan we took out really needs to be paid back and we still have so many maintenance jobs that need doing but we just don't have the money to spare. And your college loan needs paying back. It will all come together but it is going to take time. It would definitely be beneficial for you to do some work outside of Heartland. I know you probably don't want to but...''

''No Lou,'' Amy cut in, ''it's fine. I don't mind.''

''Well that's good.'' Lou smiled at her, ''it's so good to have you back.''

Amy looked at her radiant sister; pregnancy was a good look on her. Lou's skin glowed and her eyes shone.

''So do you know what it is yet? Boy or girl?'' Amy asked excitedly.

''Nope,'' Lou replied, ''We want it to be a surprise. Do you want us to come over and keep you company tonight? I don't mind.''

Amy studied her sister; she looked concerned, ''No, I'll be ok I think. Watch a bit of telly, chill out a bit, set my alarm!'' she laughed, hoping that her sister didn't hear how high and fake it sounded. But Amy reasoned with herself; Lou had her own family, her own life. She couldn't be over here every night just for her.

Amy watched the TV, not paying the slightest bit of attention to what was going on. Her mind kept drifting. Firstly to Ty, he had avoided her pretty much all day. She tried and failed to convince herself that they were both tired and it was probably just her over thinking things. She would have to talk to him tomorrow. She thought of the all the horses, she couldn't wait to start working with them properly, getting to know them and their little quirks. Tomorrow was also her first afternoon working for Scott. Her stomach did backflips when she thought about it. It was all very well doing practical's at VirginiaTech and a bit of work at Heartland but going out with Scott was the most pressure, bar exams, that she'd ever had. At least she only had to do horses - she had chosen to specialise with horses rather than to be able to treat all large animals although she was still qualified to work with small animals such as dogs and cats.

Her eyes opened with a jump. She looked at her watch - it was eleven o'clock. The programme she had been watching had finished an hour ago, she must have fallen asleep. Amy got up and went to bed, setting her alarm for half five.


	2. Chapter 2

_She stood in the kitchen in her yard clothes. Her hair was a long tangled mess behind her._

_All of a sudden all she could hear were horses in the yard. Loads of them by the sound of it. Amy ran to the back door. Hundreds of horses were galloping out onto the yard and then down the driveway and out onto the road._

_''Ty!'' she shouted, ''Ty!''_

_He'd have to help her get all the horses back - there was no way she could do it on her own. She would need Joni too._

_''Joni!'' Amy yelled out again to no avail. She tried everyone she knew but she was alone and she had to get all these horses back. But where were they coming from? Amy suddenly realised that these horses couldn't all be from Heartland; there simply wasn't the stabling for them. She tried Ty's name one more time and this time he appeared. _

_He was riding Sundance as he galloped into the yard. He stopped and smiled at Amy._

_''Ty,'' she shouted over the noise, ''You have to ride Sundance onto the road and try and block the horses off. There are so many of them! What is going on?''_

_Amy jumped when she heard a noise from behind her. She spun around to see her mom and grandpa with their bags making their way out._

_''Where are you going?'' she yelled._

_''What's?'' she turned to speak to Ty but he was galloping off on Sundance amongst the other horses. All she could hear of him was his laughter. She turned in confusion to her mom and grandpa, but they walked straight past her and got in her grandpas car._

_''Stop!'' she shouted over and over, ''Stop!''_

_But they never did. They left as the last horse galloped down the drive. The yard was deadly silent and empty. Amy sat on the back step and felt her tears roll down her cheeks, ''What have I done?'' she whispered to herself._

* * *

The alarm buzzed in her ear and Amy wasn't sad to have to wake up. That had been a horrible dream. She dressed, went downstairs, shoved her feet in her trainers and headed onto the yard. She began by mucking out the front stables. The grey pony inside nuzzled her pockets for treats.

''Hey Polo. Nope, no treats I'm afraid, you'll have to wait for a bit,'' she said to him, rubbing between his eyes, ''Now come on, out the way so I can muck you out.''

She smiled as the pony obediently moved around; this was Holly's pony. He stood at about 13hh with beautiful dapples on his coat and a cheeky eye. Holly had just started competing with him, doing a little bit of showing and she was a member of the local pony club. She was a good little rider but was also having lessons with Joni. Joni was a fab instructor and now taught at the pony club too, in between work at Heartland.

Amy finished Polo's stable and moved onto the next. It was Party, a coloured show jumper who had been sent by his new owners having been scared by his previous owners when they went in the stable with him. So Joni and Ty were working on making him more comfortable when he was in the stable, he would be ready to go in a few days time. Whilst Amy was pleased that he was cured, she would have liked to have gotten to know him a bit better. He looked like a sensitive soul but good to work with. He stood quietly as she mucked him out, not fussing about anything.

It wasn't long before she had mucked out five more stables, she had just finished Williams box when Ty pulled onto the yard.

''Morning,'' Amy called out, ''You ok?''

Ty wandered over, ''I'm ok thanks, you?''

Amy nodded, ''I'm good thanks. I've done from Polo up to here so far but I haven't fed because I didn't know what everyone was having or any supplements that were going in.''

''Well I'll start mixing up feeds whilst you finish up this row, when Joni comes she can start on the back barn with you,'' Ty said.

''Ok,'' Amy agreed, slightly shocked by the authority in which Ty spoke. She moved her tools up to Heidi's stable and started mucking out her box. Heidi was a sweet bay mare that had just arrived. She had been sent to cure her fear of loading and only arrived the day before yesterday. She was a friendly inquisitive mare who liked to be at the centre of attention. Amy laughed as the pony tried to pick up the brush by its handle.

''Come here you, you can't tidy up your stable as well as me.''

It wasn't long before Joni also turned up on the yard. She said hi to Amy quickly and then headed to the feed store. She picked up a stack of feeds and headed to the back barn. Amy left her tools tidily outside a stable and walked over to the feed store to give them a hand. Ty was already on his way out.

''Are they for the front barn?'' she asked, ''I'll take them if you like.''

''No its fine Amy, you wouldn't know which is which,'' Ty said, ''Have you finished here? Could you go up to the back barn and make a start?''

''I've just got one more box here and then I'm going straight up,'' Amy replied, hurt and confused as to why Ty wouldn't let her help with the feeds. She shut herself in Rocky's stable, going faster than she did before to prove to Ty that she wasn't now an invalid, she could still work just as hard.

By half past eight all the stables had been done and most of the horses groomed quickly. Amy headed inside to grab some toast. She made some coffee and poured out three mugs.

''Does anyone want anything to eat?'' she asked when the other two came in, ''There's toast on the table but if you want anything just help yourself.''

''Cool, thanks Amy,'' Joni smiled at her.

''So what do you want me to do today? I thought maybe I could do a bit of exercising of the horses that are nearly ready to go and then a bit with Heidi maybe?''

''That sounds good to me,'' Joni agreed. Both girls looked at Ty for his agreement.

''Sure,'' he said, ''You won't really have time to do much else really will you Amy? Not if you're going with Scott later.''

''Ok, what have you got planned for the day?''

Ty took a swig of coffee, ''The usual, you know.''

Sensing that Ty wasn't going to elaborate anymore, Amy downed the rest of her coffee and went out to groom Heidi. The mare nuzzled her as she let herself into the stable.

''Hey sweetie, you want to do some work?'' she spoke quietly to the pony as she began grooming her.

By the time Amy had finished Heidi was resting her head on the stable door, dozing.

''Come on madam,'' Amy said as she put on a head collar and clipped the lunge line on. She opened the door and led Heidi down to the ring. When they got there, Amy led Heidi into the ring and unclipped the line. Heidi jogged away from her, snorting at the sand.

''Go on,'' Amy called, moving her arms to shoo the pony away. Heidi looked at her, confusion all over her face. Amy waved the lunge line at her and she trotted to the outside of the ring. Amy moved to the centre of the ring and squared her shoulders, driving the mare away. Heidi broke into a canter, one ear directed at Amy. Amy drove her on again and then stood forward so that she changed direction. Heidi span on her hocks and cantered off in the other direction. After a few circuits she stretched her neck down and began chewing, asking Amy for permission to join her in the centre of the ring. Amy turned; shoulders hunched and head down, and waited. She heard the soft thump of hooves behind her and then a moment later the pony's warm breath tickling her neck. Amy reached up and stroked the pony's neck, ''Good girl,'' she murmured as she clipped the line back onto her head collar.

The trailer was parked to one side of the yard and Amy decided to take Heidi to see it, being that she had been so good. Heidi tensed as she neared but continued to follow Amy, trusting her completely. Amy walked around the box a couple of times each way, Heidi's muzzle never leaving her shoulder.

''Good girl,'' Amy praised her and gave her a mint to reward her before leading her back to the stables and brushing her off.

''Have you finished her now?'' Ty asked sharply.

''Yes,'' Amy replied, fed up with Ty's weird snappy behaviour.

''Ok well could you ride Prince? He's in the back barn, he's going home tomorrow and he just needs a short ride,'' Ty turned to walk off.

''Ty!'' Amy said as she let herself out of Heidi's stable, ''Aren't you going to ask me how she went?''

''I figured you'd have said if there was a problem,'' he replied and turned again. Amy jogged up to catch up with him.

''What's wrong? You've barely said a word to me since I got back and when you have you've been snappy and rude, I don't get what I've done wrong.''

''Amy I don't have time for this, I've got a hundred and one things to be doing,'' he retorted and continued to walk off.

Amy let it drop and went to get Prince, feeling angry and hurt. As she was tacking him up, Joni stuck her head over the door.

''You ok? Was Heidi good?'' she asked.

''Heidi was fab thanks. Joni?'' Amy asked tentively, not sure whether or not to ask her about Ty.

''Yeah?'' Joni replied, turning to go into the next stable down.

''Actually don't worry, its fine.''

''Ok no worries, have a good ride,''

''Thanks,'' Amy replied as she led Prince out through the barn.

* * *

When Amy got back, Lou's car and Scott's truck were parked in the yard. Amy jumped off Prince, Scott must be here to pick her up; she couldn't believe it was that time already. She untacked Prince quickly and finished him up before going inside to change. Lou was sitting at the dinner table with Scott in deep conversation when Amy got in.

''Hia, won't be a minute - just got to change quickly.''

Her stomach twisted as she changed. There was so much to think about. She took the stairs two at a time on her way back down, ''Ok ready,'' she said to Scott.

''Cool. Sorry I'm a bit earlier than I said but I've got quite a few horses to check up on my rounds,'' he explained, ''but it should only take a couple of hours.''

Amy smiled, ''Sounds good. You ok Lou?''

''I'm good thanks, have fun,'' Amy noticed that her sister sounded a bit distracted; perhaps it was just the pregnancy.

* * *

When Amy got home later that afternoon, Joni had gone home but Ty was still working. She walked over to the arena - he was working with a horse called Blue who had been rescued. Amy remembered seeing pictures of him just after he had arrived as a yearling. Then he had been a skinny bag of bones with a long dull coat. Now he looked happy and healthy with a shorter, shinier coat. Ty turned, dropping his aggressive stance and waited. Amy looked to Blue who had immediately turned into Ty. He clearly trusted Ty and they now had a great partnership. Amy smiled watching them; it had been a long, long time since she had seen Ty join up and now he looked so peaceful. Blue followed him around the ring as if attached by some invisible line before Ty turned and clipped his line on. He took the horse up to the back barn. Amy hung around for a bit, that should have been Ty's last job of the day if she calculated it correctly. She decided that she had to speak to him before this rift went any further. This hadn't been a problem when she had visited at Christmas. Maybe it was the fact that she permanently back now. He hadn't wanted her to leave seven years ago when she had first come to the decision that she needed to go, but then the circumstances had been very different then. Then Amy couldn't imagine not being with Ty.

It wasn't long before she heard footsteps come back down the yard.

''Ty?'' she asked, ''Can we talk?''

''About?'' he responded, an unreadable expression on his face.

''What's going on between us, I don't know what I've done wrong. I thought that you'd be at least a little happy that I'm back. We used to be such a good team but now I just feel like a stranger in the yard and your treating me like one.''

''You are effectively a stranger Amy! You've barely been here for seven years, did you think we'd keep all the same horses?'' he said, almost shouting.

''No Ty. I know things have changed, I know I've probably changed a bit but our treating me like I'm just another stable hand or something. I'm not! In case you forgot but I own the place, I live here,'' she yelled back, ''Which means that I want to be involved with the horses and have some idea of their treatment. This morning you wouldn't even let me help with the feeds!''

''If you want to be so involved, why are you running off with Scott on his rounds? If you want to be involved you have to be here, not dealing with other people's horses. I'm shocked that you even considered it to be quite honest. At Christmas you couldn't stop saying how much you were looking forward to being at Heartland full time,'' Ty yelled back at her.

''I don't believe you Ty sometimes! Why I shouldn't I use my knowledge to help other people out? Scott is short of a vet and I can give him a hand until he employs a new one. And Heartland isn't exactly in great shape money wise at the moment,'' Amy realised almost immediately that she had said too much but right now she didn't care; she was far too angry to care right now.

''Well then take on more horses. We've got the space and the man power now, but no Amy Fleming, vet extraordinaire wants to go and work for Scott! You just don't care about Heartland now do you?'' he retorted angrily.

''Fine, I'll go work for Scott, you and Joni can run Heartland and then nothing will change for you and I can get on with my life!'' Amy replied furiously. She turned on her heels and slammed the back door and fell against it, shaking with rage. Frustrated tears ran down her face as she sat there and when she looked up at the empty kitchen she realised, once more, how alone she was in this big house.


	3. Chapter 3

Amy finished the mucking out just as Ty pulled into the yard. It was Sunday, four days after the row. Since then, neither had talked to one another, a long silence broken only by questions related to Heartland. Amy turned and watched him walk stiffly across the yard to the tackroom. Confused she headed after him.

''How come your here today? It's your day off.''

''I'm well aware of that fact Amy, I thought you could do with the help being that you haven't been back that long,'' he replied coldly. Once more Amy flared up, but thought better of it.

''I can manage by myself,'' she said, fighting to control her tone of voice, ''Joni knows the feeds and has just finished them and we were only going to exercise today. We can manage.''

Ty looked at her and then looked away again quickly, ''Well I needed to get some work done with Poem anyway - I don't want to ruin our momentum,'' he finished sharply, stalking off back down the yard to the big grey horse's stable. Amy's eyes followed him angrily, how dare he think she couldn't manage.

She headed back inside to pick up her riding hat, which she had left in the kitchen yesterday, when she had run in to pick up the phone. Lou was just making a cup of tea when Amy slammed the back door in fury.

''Amy, what's up honey?'' Lou asked, worried.

''Don't even go there,'' Amy snapped, grabbing her hat.

''Well you can't ride in this much of a mood, why don't you just take a breather a minute?''

''Honestly Lou, I'm fine,'' Amy replied, calmer now. She didn't really want to offload her problems onto Lou. She'd only been back a few days - she shouldn't be struggling at all.

''Hmm, well I ought to catch up with you really. I do worry about you being here on your own sometimes,'' Lou studied her carefully.

''I'm fine,'' Amy replied automatically, ''really.''

The phone rang. Lou broke Amy's gaze to pick it up.

''Heartland, Lou speaking,'' she answered in a professional, business-like way. Amy headed to the back door once more, glad of the excuse to escape but her big sister beckoned her back.

''Of course, come straight here. You're 30 minutes away? No problem, we'll see you then,'' Lou finished up. She put the phone down and turned to Amy.

''Amy, how many free stalls do we have right now?''

''Umm, well we can turn several out if we need to?'' Amy replied, confused by the urgency on her sister's face, ''Why? What's going on?''

''That was a lorry driver; I think he's friends with Ty's dad. He picked up a lorry of horses two days ago in a pretty poor state and the owners said that they had just rescued them from the meat works and that the paperwork had already been sent to the new owners. So he drove them down to the so-called new owners who claimed never to have bought the horses and most certainly didn't want them. He rang the owners back and said there must have been a mistake with the address. But they said he right address, there was no mix up and told him he would have to deal with it himself because they were just about to get on a plane to France where they had moved to live. So he's bringing them here.''

''Oh my god,'' Amy cried, ''how many?''

''About 10 - the largest the company takes now. And I don't know anything else, I'm sorry,'' Lou eyes were wide with shock, ''I just can't believe someone would do that.''

''I know, I've got to go and tell Joni. We'll start shifting horses around; they'll need to be quarantined. It'll have to be the back barn?'' Amy spoke the train of thought out loud, ''can you tell Ty please?''

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the back barn was empty, the stables tidy and clean. The rest of the horses were turned out. The showing or competition horses would come into the front block later on, and any of Heartlands own horses would go out 24/7.

As Amy turned Poem out into Willows old paddock, a huge transporter pulled up into the yard. She couldn't believe this was about to happen, all she could think about was the last time that a lorry of a similar had pulled into the yard eight years ago. She hoped that this time, it wasn't as bad.

The driver parked and jumped out. He was a bald man who must have been in his sixties. He shook each of their hands.

''I'm Dave,'' he said grimly, ''sorry to have given you such short notice. I just couldn't think what else to do.''

''its fine,'' Lou reassured, ''we'll take good care of them.''

''So what happened?'' Amy asked. It was important to get all the information she needed, so she could be as effective as possible.

''Well I picked them up on Friday - the owners specifically asked for that. Said that they'd rescued them last week from the meat works and were sending them away to get 'em better. Paid me cash and all. I stopped every four hours to give them water and a bit of hay, no halters so they haven't been out of the lorry. I don't think that they're that old to be honest. Got to the new place and they said that they didn't know anything about them. And I don't think they did to be quite frank - there were no stables. So I rang the number the owners gave me if there was a problem. Turned out to be a friend of theirs. Said that they'd moved to France yesterday. Also let slip that they'd had them for about a year - so no rescue last week. They'd been given them apparently. I was supposed to be home first thing this morning - daughters about to give birth,'' he finished, sounding worried.

''Hmm, well let's get them all out and in their stables then, and then I can check them then,'' Amy said, trying to plan, ''You said that there was no halters?''

''Can't get near them to be honest, they only started to drink this morning,'' Dave admitted.

''Ok well do you think that you can back the lorry up to the big barn up there? I think it would be easiest,'' Amy said. There was no point trying to lead ten wild horses up to the barn, the other side of the yard.

''Do you really think that's wise, Amy?'' Ty questioned her.

''I can't see any other way, it's going to take too long to get in there and halter break ten youngsters.''

Lou and Joni murmured their agreement. Amy peered in the side of the lorry, the horses looked so scared and helpless. Dave jumped in the front cab and started up the lorry.

She and Joni pulled some gates up between the lorry and the barn, to stop the youngsters escaping out the side. Ty helped Dave to lower the ramp. The young horses teetered on the edge of the ramp, unsure of whether to stay in the lorry, where they had been safe and the new, light space of the barn. A young bay cautiously placed a foot on the ramp. The noise rang out in the barn and he shot backwards, eyes rolling. Dave banged the side of the lorry, which rattled loudly in the still summer air. The ten youngsters shot down the ramp into the barns aisle. Ty shook his head. Amy ignored him as her Joni tried to move each into a separate stable. Eventually they managed it and Dave jumped in his truck.

''Sorry again,'' he said, as he left.

''It's no problem. Thankyou for bringing them here,'' Lou responded.

Amy immediately got to work on the new arrivals.

''Joni, if you want to get the rock rose and crab apple Bach remedies. I'll try and make a start to have a look at them one at a time,'' she instructed.

''Amy. What were you thinking?'' Ty demanded, when Joni had left. Amy picked up the equipment that she needed in the tackroom.

''That these are horses that need rescuing,'' she replied coldly, when had Ty had even considered turning a horse away? ''I thought that's why you worked here? To _rescue _abandoned and mistreated horses, remember?''

''Yes but ten? We're stretched enough as it is,'' he responded, running a hand through his hair.

''Since when has that mattered Ty?'' Amy snapped, ''I wasn't going to turn them away. And we wouldn't be a stretched if you stopped treating me as if I've never dealt with horses before. If you remember - I lived here before.''

Ty just glared at her.

''You know what Ty?'' Now that she'd started, she couldn't stop, ''Go home now. Just go. Obviously working with me will be too hard for you. And in fact don't come in at all full stop. I don't see why I should put up with your shitty behaviour - you know that I'm perfectly capable and for some weird reason you won't accept that I'm back.''

''Amy, don't be so fucking stupid,'' Ty yelled back at her.

''What the hell is going on in here?'' Lou shouted over them.

''I've got horses to treat,'' Amy muttered and stormed back to the back barn. The horses were more important now. She let herself into the stable with a plain bay.

* * *

''Hey sweetie,'' she said softly, rubbing some chestnut powder into her hands. The colt shot to the back of the stable. ''Hey,'' she called again, ''what've they done to you huh?''

Her grey eyes took in the little horse. She could count his ribs and his hip bones stuck out at angles. She approached him, her shoulders hunched, avoiding eye contact. Carefully she reached out and slipped a rope around his neck, he shot backwards.

''Easy boy,'' Amy soothed, ''easy.''

Joni appeared and helped Amy to check the colt over. They finished and left the young horse with some hay and water and moved through the barn. It took until the end of the day for the two young girls to work their way through the barn. By the end both were exhausted.

''Thanks Joni,'' Amy said as they left the barn, ''couldn't have done without you.''

''Oh I don't know about that, you could have just called...'' Amy shot her a look and Joni fell silent.

''See you tomorrow, plenty to do now,'' Amy said as Joni drove off.

Amy made her way up to the house, noticing that Lou's car was still there. Her sister was sitting at the table.

''Amy. I can't believe what you've done,'' she said.

''What?'' Amy replied, indignantly, ''He hasn't spoken to me all week. He's been downright rude to me, in front of clients. He hasn't even let me feed the horses, I can't believe that you can say that I was wrong.''

''I know,'' Lou interrupted, ''but we can't let Ty go - he's too important to Heartland. He's been here through thick and thin. I spoke to him and he's agreed to stay on. You will just have to put up with it.''

''But,'' Amy began.

''No buts, Ty just needs time to adjust to having you back around the place and he'll be fine,'' Lou said and Amy knew that she was in no answering back territory, ''Anyway, I can't believe you didn't tell me what was going on to begin with Amy.''

''I didn't want to upset you; you've got enough on your own plate without dealing with rows between me and Ty. I thought we'd work it out on our own eventually,'' Amy finished, looking at the floor.

''Oh Amy, don't worry about me. I'll be fine,'' Lou got up and reached over to hug her, ''I'll see you tomorrow - don't worry about Ty, he'll get over it.''


	4. Chapter 4

Amy scanned through the reports, checking for spelling mistakes and errors. It was usually Lou's job to write up the reports for the new horses that arrived but Amy had decided that she must become more involved with the paperwork side of the business. It was Monday morning. All the horses were mucked out and Amy had come in for a coffee quickly before she began working with yesterday's arrivals. She had definitely needed the coffee; she had stayed up until one getting the reports straight. All that was left to do was name each of them.

At that moment Joni and Lou came in the kitchen.

''Morning Amy,'' Lou said, ''I'll get started on those reports straight away then.''

''No need,'' Amy grinned, ''they're all done. Look.''

''Well done,'' her sister smiled back at her, ''I'll go then if I'm not needed here.''

Amy looked at her to make sure she was joking, ''They all need names though.''

''Umm, Star?'' Joni suggested.

''For who?'' Amy replied, pen ready to write it on the form.

''The black with the star and the two front socks?''

''Excellent. One down, nine to go,'' Amy put Star's report separate from the rest.

''Ghost? For the grey?'' Lou added.

''Ok, and I was thinking of Charlie for the bay with the star?'' Amy wrote down both names on their respective forms.

''Flash? For the chestnut with the white star and little stripe? Think he's got a sock on a back leg,'' Lou offered.

''Jester for the plain bay?'' Joni added.

''Rocky? The bay with the blaze?'' Amy suggested, writing down the other names.

''What about Thunder? For the other black?'' Joni asked.

''Chocolate for the other bay?''

''Ok,'' Amy said, finishing writing, ''Blue for the older grey and Jay for the younger one?''

''Excellent,'' said Lou, ''Can I look?''

Amy handed the forms over.

''So we have,'' Lou paused, shuffling through the papers, ''four three year olds: Thunder, Charlie, Chocolate and Blue, three two year olds: Jay, Rocky and Star, and then three yearlings: Flash, Ghost and Jester. And six of them are Thoroughbreds: Star, Rocky, Jester, Ghost, Jay and Flash. The others are Warmbloods. And all are colts, right?''

''Yep,'' Amy said, ''I think that we should break the three year olds and sell them on in a year's time. We could sell some of the two year olds once their back to full health. And I'm not sure about the yearlings. But with no paperwork for any of them they won't be worth a lot. They'll be worth far more money if they're broken in.''

''Well I'm going to contact the company this morning and check the internet in case they're stolen although it will be hard to prove as they aren't branded in anyway. You sure they're not?''

''Well I'm pretty sure they're not, I couldn't see anything on them yesterday but then I may have missed something. If we do find anything I'll let you know straight away. Oh and do you think Scott could come over and give me a hand with gelding them? It'll be a pretty big job to geld 10 of them and I'm not too sure about doing it on my own. Any time in the next couple of weeks would be great.''

Amy and Joni left Lou to do her research and make her phone calls and headed out to begin work with the youngsters.

''Maybe if we try and join up with the three year olds. I think they've had a lot a contact with people when they were really young but have just got a bit wild because they've been left to their own devices for a long time. The younger ones haven't had a lot, I think.''

Joni nodded in agreement.

''So do you want to go halves? Have a few of each age?'' she suggested.

''Good idea,'' Amy agreed. She walked into the tack room to pick up what she needed. She jumped when she saw Ty. He glared at her.

''Ty,'' she started, ''I'm really sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have been so harsh on you.''

Ty just turned his back on her a walked away. Amy stood for a moment, mouth open in shock. She had expected him to say something at least; this wasn't Ty as she knew him.

''Do you have any preference as to which horses you work with Ames?'' Joni asked, walking in at that moment. Amy turned, composing herself, ''Umm not really, take your pick.''

''Ok, are you alright if I work with Thunder, Rocky, Jester, Blue and Chocolate then?''

''Yeah,'' Amy replied, absent-mindedly, ''No problem.''

She walked back across the yard, her mind spinning. She knew what she had done had maybe been a bit over the top but she had apologised. He hadn't even acknowledged that she had said anything. She hadn't expected her fitting back in to be easy but she had thought that Ty would help her and support her. It was frustrating, especially when she didn't know how to fix it.

Letting herself into Charlie's stable she slipped a halter on him quietly. He watched her warily, as she opened the door and encouraged him through it. The colt tentively walked through, not wanting to leave the safe sanctuary of his stable. He spooked at the brushes on the floor. Amy just walked ahead of him, acting as the leader, giving him confidence. As they reached the door Amy felt the colt stop.

''Come on,'' she whispered to him, not looking back; if she made eye contact now he would take fright. All of a sudden she felt the lead rope go slack. The bay barged past her into the yard, almost knocking her over. Amy quickly regained her balance, not letting go of the rope, despite the burning sensation in her hands.

''Whoa boy, whoa,'' she called out to him as he came to a halt in the yard. Amy decided to ignore this behaviour and continued to walk to the ring. They made it there with only a few more incidents.

Amy let him loose in the ring and drove him away. He wasn't worried about her presence. He had definitely had work done with him in the past. He hadn't looked really afraid at all coming across the yard. He bucked as he crossed the ring before settling down to work on the outside of the ring. Amy changed direction a few circuits later and two or three later, his inside ear turned to her and his head lowered. She continued to drive him forward, aware that he couldn't keep going for much longer; she could count his ribs and he was breathing heavily. He opened and closed his mouth, chewing, showing that he was ready to join her in the centre of the ring. Amy turned her back to him, shoulders rounded. She heard him come to a halt and it was a few moments before she heard his footsteps behind her. She let out the breath she had been holding. He nuzzled her neck and she turned to look at him, running a hand down his neck, smiling.

''Good lad,'' she murmured. It had been a long time since she had joined up with a horse and she had almost forgotten what a buzz it was to connect. When she led him back up the yard he followed her calmly and quietly, trusting her. Once in the stable he stood as she brushed him, ridding him of the long shaggy coat, which they all had due to neglect. Amy finished with some t-touch and stood back. Charlie's eyes were closed and he looked, for the first time, completely at ease. Amy slipped out of the stable; she had a feeling that the others wouldn't be quite so easy. Charlie had the sort of people pleasing personality that made him easy to work with.

Amy decided to work with Star next. He rolled his eyes as Amy let herself into his stable, backing up against the wall. Amy turned around and faced out of the door, seeing that the two year old wasn't happy about her being around. Looking at his face he looked as though he had a fiery personality, shown in his long straight ears and his high set pointed eyes. But he also looked as though he was a bold and clever horse that would be a fast learner. It was half an hour before she felt him move closer to her, snorting as he did so. Amy left the stable then, rewarding him. As soon as she was two stables away he was at the door looking around. She repeated the process with the two yearlings; Ghost taking three quarters of an hour to move towards her, Flash taking well over an hour.

It wasn't long at all before Jay walked up to Amy so she decided to try join up with him. He was bold and confident enough she thought.

Half an hour later she led a calm and quiet Jay back into the stables. He had joined up easily with her, wanting the comfort and attention. She spent an hour brushing him off and doing t-touch. Already there was a change in all ten of them.

* * *

''Ty, please listen to me,'' Amy pleaded with him that evening, as he was leaving. It was raining and she was being soaked to the skin.

''Why Amy, why?'' he spat at her, through the rain.

''Please Ty. I don't want to fight.''

''Well maybe you should have thought about that before you fucking sacked me then,'' he shouted back.

''I'm sorry Ty, really I am. I shouldn't have gone off at you like that,'' she said.

''What? And that's supposed to make it all better is it? A few deep and meaningful's and it'll all be back to normal?'' he yelled at her.

''No, I don't. But it would be a start,'' Amy shouted.

''A start to what Amy?'' he said, moving closer to her, ''Starting again now that your back? We don't need a fresh start - we've managed fine whilst you've been gone. Look around, the place is overflowing with horses.''

''What do you want me to do Ty? Tell me because I really don't know,'' she screamed back at him, tears flowing down her cheeks, ''I want to be part...''

Ty kissed her. Kissed her like never before. Amy shut her eyes and just felt the moment. It could have been mere moments or an hour before she opened them. Their eyes met. Ty dropped her and walked back across the yard to his truck. He got in and drove away without a backwards glance. Amy watched him go before sliding down the wall in a heap, tears falling thick and fast, mingling with the rain streaming down her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Charlie followed Amy across the ring, nose almost resting on her shoulder. All of a sudden he came to an abrupt halt, snorting.

''Hey boy, what's up?'' she spoke softly to him, ''S'alright.''

She turned around to see a figure silhouetted in the twilight. Ty.

''Come on, he won't hurt you,'' she murmured to him, leading him to the gate. He followed, relaxing at Amy's soothing tone.

Amy ignored Ty, not allowing his presence to affect her behaviour around Charlie. He was still very nervous and the smallest thing could spook him, undoing the good session he had just done. She took him to his stable, taking her time rubbing him down. Putting off the inevitable talk with Ty. It had been a whole week since the kiss and Ty hadn't been back. He had told Lou that his brother had been in an accident and he had to go and be with him in a hospital in Ohio. Amy had forced herself to believe the story; she didn't want him to leave for good. No matter how bad things were she didn't want him to leave Heartland. He meant too much. But as the week continued, she had become more and more worried, he hadn't rung and he hadn't come back. Now she was so scared of talking to him. She knew, even now, that he was there to tell her that he was going. And not coming back.

Amy finished Charlie, did a quick check of the other horses and headed back to the kitchen. She figured Ty would wait for her in there. As she walked back across the yard she wondered what she would do. She might be scared of Ty leaving but if they could no longer work together then maybe him leaving would be for the best. However, she knew that she couldn't let him go without a fight, she felt physically sick at the thought of him leaving.

* * *

As she opened the back door she saw Ty, his back to her, cooking over the hob. It smelt delicious. He turned to look at her as she walked in and kicked off her trainers.

''Ty special?'' he asked, passing her a weak smile. Amy stood shocked, staring at him. Eventually she managed to nod at him.

''Umm, yeah...'' she stuttered as emotion threatened to pour out of her, ''Just need to...''

She leapt up the stairs, taking them two at a time, blinded by her tears. When Amy reached the landing she threw herself in the bathroom, locked the door and allowed the tears to pour from her. When she regained control of herself, she showered and pulled on a pair of clean jeans and a hoody.

The brunette made her way down the stairs as slow as she could manage. When she got there Ty stood in the middle of the kitchen, two plates of steaming food behind him on the table.

''Amy,'' he began,

''Ty.'' she started at the same time.

''You go first,'' Ty said gently.

''No, no. You go,'' Amy pushed.

''Ok well, umm, I wanted to apologise for being such a twat towards you the past couple of weeks. I get that now you're a vet that you want to do vet things. And that Heartland might not be enough of a challenge for you anymore. I want you to know that you have my full support if you want to apply for the job at Scott's. It'll provide you with the challenges that you need. I think that maybe I was a bit naive to believe that you would just come back and it would all be the same as before except for the many calls to Scott. And I'm really really sorry for making it so hard. I promise that from now on it'll be back to business as usual again.''

''Umm, thank you,'' Amy replied, shocked.

''You go.''

''Umm, I just wanted to tell you not to leave. You mean too much to Heartland. To me,'' Amy finished, looking at him straight in the eye.

''I was never going to leave. Why did you think that?'' Ty asked her, clearly puzzled.

''Well I figured that you would, you disappeared for a whole week. I didn't know where you had gone or what was happening,'' Amy said, amazed that Ty didn't want her to think that.

''Did Lou not tell you?'' He asked, ''I had to go and see Lee. He had a bit of an accident.''

''Yeah she told me that. But I thought you were just telling Lou that so you could avoid me,'' Amy said, feeling more and more confused.

''No he actually did have an accident. Crashed his motorbike, broken arm and leg but he'll be OK, thank God. It could have been so much worse. I would never lie to Lou or anyone here,'' he finished.

''Oh,'' Amy said, feeling a bit guilty, ''Sorry. And I was never going to apply for the job at Scott's. I was just filling in for a bit.''

''That's OK. Do you want to eat?'' he asked, looking relieved.

''Oh yeah, sure. Thank you, it's nice to have dinner cooked for me,'' Amy smiled, relaxing slightly.

''Do you want to stay for a bit?'' Amy asked once they had eaten and loaded the dishwasher, ''I think I might be able to find some chocolate ice cream in the freezer for pudding?''

''That would be good,'' Ty replied, looking at her and smiling.

''Good,'' Amy said, rummaging around in the freezer.

''I'll go and find a film then,'' Ty said, ''Can't have ice cream without a good film.''

Amy continued her search, biting her lip in confusion and nerves. She had thought of them as over for good but now she was starting to wonder. She hadn't felt like this for so long. And suddenly it hit her - she was still in love with Ty. She couldn't help it; maybe she had never gotten over him. All she knew now was that she loved him and that she was never going to stop loving him. She picked up two spoons, not bothering with bowls, and made her way to the living room.

''Australia OK?'' Ty asked, turning to look at her. Amy's mind raced back to their first ever kiss; just the thought made her tingle all over.

''Umm, yeah,'' she replied, feeling suddenly hot and flustered.

Handing Ty a spoon, she sat down on the sofa next to him and opened the carton.

''Help yourself,'' she added, needlessly. She watched him as he dug his spoon into the cold solid. He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. Quickly she dropped her gaze, tucking into the side closer to her. If she had thought she was over him she had been totally wrong; she had never felt so turned on until this moment. She squeezed her legs together, trying to ease the growing pressure.

When the film had finished Amy had no idea what the film was about, no idea who the characters were and had no idea about the time in which it was based around; in fact she didn't even know what genre of film it was. She had been, however, acutely aware of Ty next to her. Amy was very glad that he couldn't read minds - he would probably never speak to her again if he knew what she had been thinking.

''Well I'll be off then,'' Ty said to her as he walked into the kitchen with their dishes.

''Umm yeah. Wow, I didn't realise how late it had gotten,'' Amy replied. Ty placed the dishes into the dishwater slowly and precisely as Amy watched him, biting her lip. Then carefully, as if trying not to slip on ice, Ty moved towards the door.

''Well I'll see you tomorrow then,'' he said.

''I guess so,'' Amy replied, avoiding eye contact. Ty opened the back door and made as if to walk out. Amy looked up at him.

''Look Amy,'' he began, turning and shutting the door behind him, ''I wasn't completely truthful when I said that I didn't want you to work for Scott because I thought we would go back to normal. There was another reason.''

Amy felt her eyes widen. Was he really going to wreck the evening they'd just had by confessing something else? Couldn't it wait?

''I didn't want you to go and work for Scott because, and I know this is going to sound selfish, but I didn't want you to because it would provide more of a chance for you to meet someone else and fall in love with them. The thing is, Amy Fleming, I'm in love with you. There is no-one quite like you out there and most certainly no-one else I want to be with. You're the only one that I could ever need.''


	6. Chapter 6

For a moment Amy just stared at him, unable to comprehend what she had just heard.

''But... We... Aren't... You...'' she spluttered at him, not sure what to say. Then before her brain could think, she kissed him. The kiss was passionate and hot and fierce. Like seven years of pent up frustration and unrequited love pouring out of them, into that one kiss. That one moment.

Amy knotted her hands in the hair at the back of Ty's neck, pulling him closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, hands brushing her bottom. Amy pulled back for air.

''I love you,'' she breathed heavily, smiling at him. Then, before he could respond, she kissed him again, shoving him against the kitchen wall. He grunted into her before running his tongue along her lips. Amy gasped as she granted him entry; she had never felt so alive. His warm, wet tongue slipped into her mouth, colliding with her own. Frantically he searched her mouth, as if checking all the old familiar places. Amy moaned into his mouth, pressure building at her core.

''I've missed you Amy,'' Ty whispered in her ear, breaking away from the kiss and placing small kisses just below her ear. Amy rested her head against Ty's shoulders, suddenly overwhelmed by the moment. She had never thought in a million years that they would be like this again, and certainly not after the last few weeks. Amy swallowed the tears threatening to spill over.

''Amy!'' Ty said, pulling away from her and holding her at arm's length, ''What's the matter?''

''Nothing,'' Amy sniffed, ''It's just... I never thought that we'd be like this again.''

Ty didn't reply, kissing swiftly, ''Neither did I.''

Amy brushed the tears away, and looked deep into Ty's green eyes. She had been stupid to think that she no longer loved him, that they had had their time. She realised in that moment that belonged to him, and only him. He bent down to capture her lips once more in a searing kiss. She moved her arms down his back as she returned the kiss, letting them rest just below the waist line of his jeans.

Ty moved his warm hands gently up under her hoody, feeling her sides and back. He broke from the kiss, resting his head in the nape of her neck, and brushed her breasts with a hand. Amy gasped in delight.

Ty paused slightly, but before Amy had time to react, he had scooped her up and was moving towards the staircase. Amy nipped at his neck, tasting his flesh. She was relieved that Ty knew her so well and knew that this was where she wanted to go. They had known each other for so long now and been so close to going the whole way and having sex in the past that they both knew that this was indeed the only way forward. Amy's insides twisted. Sure, she had been in relationships with other guys but she had been saving herself, making sure that she had the right one; until now she hadn't. She knew that Ty wasn't a virgin, but that didn't worry her. All she wanted was him to have his wicked way with her.

''Amy?'' he whispered in her ear, ''Are you sure you want to go this way?''

Amy nodded, ''I need you.''

* * *

''Morning beautiful,'' Ty murmured as Amy sleepily opened her eyes. She smiled, remembering back to the previous evening; it had been the most perfect she had ever had. She stretched, wincing at the pain.

''You ok?'' Ty asked voice full of concern.

''Yeah, yeah,'' she replied, ''I'm glad it hurts, means it did actually happen.''

Ty chuckled at her and she snuggled into him, feeling his nakedness.

''What's the time?'' she asked gently.

''About 6ish,'' he said, pressing into her, ''We need to get up before Joni gets here.''

''Damn,'' Amy cursed, ''Do you think we should tell everyone yet? Or shall we wait for them to realise again?''

''They'll work it out I'm sure.''

''Yeah,'' Amy replied thoughtfully, ''We really do need to get up.''

After a further ten minutes of procrastination they did eventually get up and pull on some yard clothes and begin mucking out. Amy struggled to concentrate on it though, her mind drifting back to the incredible evening she'd had with Ty, previously. Every time she saw him, she felt herself heat up and turn a bit pink; at this rate everyone would know before breakfast. Joni and Lou soon arrived, and they gathered in the kitchen to talk about the day's work. Amy felt self conscious and hyper aware of every bit of body language between her and Ty.

As they left to go about their jobs, Lou pulled Amy aside. Her stomach twisted a bit; had she been that obvious?

''I know that your main focus is the treating of the horses and you've been doing some of Scott's work, and I feel really bad asking you this,'' Lou rushed, ''but do you mind giving a hand with the paperwork? It's just that with all the surgery paperwork, Holly and now the bump, I'm falling behind here a bit.''

Amy breathed an internal sigh of relief, ''Sure I can, that's fine. You do too much anyway.''

''If you don't want to then we could get someone else in to help with the surgery things, at least until things settle down,'' Lou fussed.

''Honestly Lou, I don't mind. If I'm dealing with the horses on a regular basis anyway then the paperwork will take less time anyway. Meant in the nicest possible way though,'' Amy genuinely didn't mind being asked, her paperwork skills had improved dramatically since college so she was confident she could cope. Horses during the day and any rounds for Scott with paperwork in the evenings, she would never be bored. Images of the previous night flooded back to her; no she would certainly not be bored.

''Well that's sorted then,'' Lou brought her back to the present, ''Thank you so much Amy. It means a lot. You seem much more relaxed today as well, have you caught up on sleep a bit now? You were so tired.''

Amy smiled back at her, ''Yeah, I feel heaps better.''

''Good,'' her sister smiled, ''And you and Ty seem heaps better.''

Amy nodded and rushed to the door before her sister could click on to how much better they were getting on.

* * *

That evening though, when Amy got back from the surgery, there was no sign of Ty or his truck. Her heart fell a bit; she had thought he might stick around to say good night. Joni was just leaving, having finished up the horses. They were all settled and the ten new youngsters were looking good. The plan was to start breaking in Blue and Charlie the following day. They had really settled in the past week, and today Ty had worked with them, making good progress. Amy stepped into the house and pulled out some salad and cold potatoes from the fridge for her dinner. She picked up the pile of files from the side board and looked over them as she ate, marking down any notes. A copy of these notes, including pictures, would be given to the owners of the horse when it was sent home, and another copy kept in the office for reference.

As Amy stood and did the dishes the backdoor opened and Ty walked through, causing her to jump.

''Oh my goodness Ty!'' she yelped, ''I thought you had gone home.''

''You thought I'd gone without a goodnight?'' he asked, pretending to be offended, ''I just went home to sort some things out, thought I'd join you for dessert?''

He held up two individual cheesecakes and a bottle of wine.

''Deal,'' Amy said, grinning. She put the folders back on the sideboard and fetched two wine glasses from the cupboard and the two of them sat and chatted for ages about the horses as they ate and drank. Amy felt so warm and comfortable and safe in Ty's presence, she hadn't felt this way for so long.

* * *

**A/N - sorry for all the chapter changes again! But I realised that I had two versions of chapter 5 for some reason and none of chapter 4 and also, for whatever reason, my line breaks weren't showing. Should all be there and sorted now :) Thank you for your patience!**


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